The Last one Standing
by SophomoresTheory
Summary: Steve and Ponyboy have always had problems, but what happens when the gang is finally made aware of the hatred between the two greasers? How will they solve the problem and keep both boys intact? Johnny and Dally are alive and well.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so this is a quick Fanfic about Pony and Steve's relationship. No one in the gang knows that they hate each other, but each of them knows that the other dislikes him. Johnny and Dally are alive, I'm gonna say this is a year after the book except Johnny didn't kill Bob, he just really hurt him, so they didn't go on the run, which means no church, fire or deaths!**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S. If you are currently reading one of my other stories and are like 'wtf is she doing? Why isn't she working on one of them?' I've just had a bit of writers block but I'm getting past it!**

Ponyboy walked down the street still fuming from his conversation with Steve Randle.

**xxXxXxXxx**

"_You're nothing but a tag-a-long kid! Why don't you grow up and mind your own fucking business?"_

_Pony felt fury boil within him, usually he would disregard Steve and walk away, but he was in a bad mood and what Steve said really stuck in his craw, "Soda _asked_ me to come! Jesus, Steve, we're just at the DX! It's not like you're on a date!"_

_Steve snorted, "Oh yeah, you'd like to come along then wouldn't you? Get right in the way of things!"_

_This was too much for Ponyboy, he'd never once in his life accompanied Soda or Steve on a date, but Steve always brought it up, like Pony tried to come along. He was fifteen! He didn't need to go with them on their dates, he could get his own! "Why don't you back the fuck off, Steve?" That was sure to piss him off; he hated it when Pony used his name._

"_Why you little—" Soda chose that moment to interrupt. Both Pony and Steve relaxed and plastered fake smiles on their face, by unspoken agreement they kept their hatred hidden from the gang._

"_Hey guys, have you seen my wrench? It's around her somewhere…" Pony picked it up off the counter and handed it to Soda._

_As soon as Soda left Steve swung around to face Ponyboy, "Why don't you get the hell outta' here, kid?"_

_He shouldn't have bothered; Pony was already half way out the door._

**xxXxXxXxx**

Pony furiously kicked at a bottle on the street. It was so hot outside that sweat already soaked through his T-shirt, maybe that was it; the heat was what was getting to them. Ever since the start of the summer Steve and Pony had been going at it like dogs, unbeknownst to the group, of course.

Pony didn't know what it was, but everything Steve said made Pony want to punch him in the face, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. Everything about the other just rubbed each one them wrong way; they were usually pretty good at hiding it though.

Pony looked up as he rounded the corner; Dally and Johnny were just a ways down the street, coming towards him. He waved and caught their attention, smoothing his face into a cool mask.

"Hey Pony," Johnny said. He was a bit more talkative when it was just Pony or Dally, the people he felt most comfortable with.

"Hey, Johnny. How's it goin'?" Pony asked.

"Shitty," Dally answered for both of them, "Fucking Shepard slashed my damn tires!"

"Didn't you slash his last week?" Pony asked.

"Fuck no; that was the goddamned River Kings! Tim's got problems with them on his turf!" Dally ranted. Then he stopped suddenly, "Hey, Ponyboy, you alright, kid?"

"Huh? Yeah fine." He lied. His stomach was still writhing in little knots like it does when someone beats you at something then acts unbearably smug, but of course he couldn't tell them that.

They seemed to face his lie at face value, "Yeah, well, Johnny and I were just headed down to the DX, gonna' see what Steve can do for my tires, you comin'?"

"Uh, nah, man. Can't." Pony said, unconvincingly.

"Why not?" Johnny spoke up, looking disappointed. Pony felt bad about ditching his best friend but he couldn't see Steve again, he might punch him or something and that would land him in a whole lotta' trouble.

"Uh, hom—" Pony cut himself off from his go to excuse, he kept forgetting that school was out and he didn't have homework, "Darry asked me to do something for him, gotta go or I'll be late!"

"Well okay, you goin' to the Nightly Double tonight?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, I think everyone is. Meet at my place." Johnny nodded and Pony rushed off before they could question him about Darry's job for him.

Dally watched him go, he liked Pony real well, he was smart and he was Johnny's best friend but, boy, sometimes he did the strangest things.

**xxXxXxXxx**

Steve listened to the sizzle as he open a fresh bottle of coke. He leaned back in his chair and watch Sodapop Curtis attempt to diagnose an engine failure. Sodapop Curtis was the best friend a guy could have, with one exception, and its name was Ponyboy.

Ponyboy irritated Steve to no end. The kid was so arrogant and disrespectful. He thought he was so great because he was going to school and getting good marks, shoot Steve coulda' got good grades too; he just preferred to have a life! That was why Pony was always coming along with Soda and him, because he spent too much time on school and didn't have any of his own friends 'sides Johnny!

Speaking of Johnny, he and Dally entered at that moment, the latter looking very disgruntled.

"Hey Dal!" Steve said, causing Soda to look up from his work, "What's wrong?"

"Fucking Tim Shepard slashed my tires, that's what's wrong!"

"Son of a bitch!" Steve cursed, angry on his friend's behalf.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Dally, happy someone was on his side. Johnny found the whole thing amusing.

Soda shook his head, "Tim Shepard better watch it, they're gettin' awful close to a good whoopin' from our gang."

Steve nodded, sometimes Shepard's guys got too sure of themselves, they needed a good beatin' every once in a while to remind them whose gang was boss around this part of town.

"Yeah, one more move like this and we'll give 'em a time and a place for a rumble!" Dally ranted.

"Where's the car?" Soda asked wiping the grease off his hands.

"It's parked at Bucks," Dally answered.

Steve asked him how bad the damage was and they went and made a plan of how to fix her up.

They finished their business quickly, as they were getting ready to leave Johnny turned to Soda, "Hey Soda, what's Darry got Pony working on?"

Soda looked up, scratching his head, "Huh?" He didn't recall any projects going on between those two.

"Yeah, that's right," Dallas said, "We ran into him on the way her and invited him to come along, he said he had work to do for Darry."

Soda shrugged, puzzled. The two got on a lot better recently, he wasn't sure if Pony was maturing or Darry was loosening up or maybe it was a bit of both, but they finally realized how much they had in common. Still he didn't remember hearing anything like that, he told them so.

Steve looked at the ground and avoided eye contact; he knew why Pony hadn't decided to come with them, the kid hadn't wanted to face Steve before cooling off. That was fine by Steve; he didn't have any reason to feel guilty. So why then couldn't he look in Soda's direction as they prepared to depart for the Curtis home later that evening?

He brushed it off, and started to think about his date. He was going with Evie that night to the Nightly Double, Soda was doubling with Evie's friend Becky.

He had no reason to feel guilty at all, he assured himself.

**Okay so next chapter they're going to have it out! I am going to make them equally responsible in the fighting because it's no fun if it's all Pony's fault or all Steve's fault.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who read my last chapter!**

Ponyboy spent most of the rest of the day wandering around the East side. He caught up on a lot of the latest news; Tim Shepard was planning a rumble with the River Kings. Pony figured his gang would probably steer clear of that for the time being; rumbles with the River Kings got dangerous, and besides, Dally was probably still pissed about his tires.

Frankie Gibson had broken it off with Sylvia again, Pony was sure they'd be back together soon. After Dally finally left her for good Sylvia wasn't too great at staying single for long and Frankie was her current cash cow. Three of the neighborhood boys Pony knew got jailed the other day for drunk and disorderly conduct. Pony wished he'd a been there, would've been one hell of a show.

He was idly wondering down 50th street when he first saw Two-Bit rounding a corner and running full speed ahead toward Ponyboy with about five socs on his tail.

Usually socs didn't chase greasers down on foot; they drove one of their fancy cars. _Two-Bit must have done something to their cars,_ Ponyboy thought. Two-Bit caught sight of Ponyboy and an expression of relief broke across his face.

Several other greasers who were loitering around caught sight of the socs and grinned, nothing like a good fight to liven up the day.

"Incoming!" Two-Bit yelled, his idea of a warning.

Two-Bit caught up with them and turned to face the socs, he whipped out his blade and Pony searched around for some type of weapon.

In the end Pony didn't need a weapon; the socs were badly outnumbered by greasers, most of whom were armed.

Two-Bit let out a joyous laugh as the socs turned tail and fled. _Say what you want about socs,_ Pony thought, _but at least they know when to beat it out of there._

Two-Bit turned and clapped Pony on the back, "You were great, kid!" Pony smiled, one year had wrought a true change in his physique, he'd shot up several inches and had a nice lean build. Ponyboy could hold his own now as long as it was a fair fight.

"Thanks, Two-Bit. You goin' to the Nightly Double tonight? Everyone is, even Dally." Ponyboy said; it went without saying that 'everyone' did not include Darry. It wasn't that he didn't hang out with the group; the guy just did not dig movies.

"Shoot, kid, of course I'll be there! Gonna' pick up a new girl!" Ponyboy smiled, it appeared Two-Bit had dumped his most recent blonde.

"Two-Bit, you go through women like Dally goes through tires!" Pony laughed as they headed in the direction of his house.

"I can't help it! Who wants to be tied down to one girl for their whole life?" Two-Bit said, shuddering at the horrifying thought.

"Don't let Steve hear that!" The conversation flowed naturally and by the time they entered the house Pony had almost completely forgotten about his earlier conversation with Steve.

"—and then I said, 'Why don't you back the hell off soc? You're outta' you're turf!' and then he said, 'Watch it greaser!' Can you believe that? He's accusing _me _of stealin' his keys and throwin' them down the storm drain—"

"Which you did."

"—and then calling _me_ a greaser on _my_ own turf!"

"Which you are."

Two-Bit waved his hand airily, "Details, details."

"What happened Two-Bit?" Soda called from the living room after catching the end of their conversation. Pony entered and saw Soda and Steve playing poker in the living room on an old card table Two-Bit stole from a yard sale. His anger surged to the surface but he swallowed it down and didn't look in Steve's direction.

"Ah, nothin'. Pony and I had a little run-in with the socs, didn't we, Pone?" Two-Bit said. Pony winced, Soda always got way too overprotective when it came to socs, ever since he and Johnny got jumped last year.

"Socs? Are you alright Pony?" Pony grimaced and didn't look at Steve; he knew all he'd see was a smug smile.

Soda was a great big brother but when he got like this it made Pony feel like a child. "Yeah, yeah Soda! I'm fine, I can take care of myself you know!"

"Are you sure?" Steve asked. Pony made the mistake of looking at Steve, he was right when he said Steve would be smug, half of his mouth was turned up in a gloating little smile.

"Yes. I'm sure."

Two-Bit seemed to pick up on Pony's aggravation, he was usually pretty receptive to the gang's emotions, he just never knew how to handle them. "Ah, shoot, Soda! We didn't even fight; damned socs turned tail and ran!"

Soda relaxed a bit but Steve just got smugger. Pony wondered what would happen if he just hit him, right now. _Nothin' good_, he answered himself.

"Pony and I are headin' over to the Nightly Double tonight, y'all comin'?" Steve's head snapped toward Pony and he narrowed his eyes, this went unnoticed by Soda and Two-Bit, "Dally and Johnny are comin' along too."

"Yeah we'll be there," Soda answered, unaware of the tension, "We got dates."

Two-Bit grinned, "That's what I'm aimin' to get!" He said, and Pony rolled his eyes.

Pony heard a muffled curse from just outside and smiled, "Sounds like Dally and Johnny are here."

Soda jumped up, "Oh! That reminds me, I was gonna' have Dally check out the new car!" It wasn't really new, they had bought it cheap off and old neighbor 'cause he was too old to drive it any more. Their other one broke down. It was in good shape but Pony figured the thing had to be at least a hundred years old. Maybe he was exaggerating a little bit.

Soda left and Two-Bit followed him; he said he wanted to see what the car looked like so that he never accidentally slashed the tires. That left Steve and Pony alone, not a good idea after that morning but Soda and Two-Bit didn't know any better.

Steve waited about a second to make sure they were gone then snapped at Ponyboy, "You ain't comin' tonight!" It was his worst fear realized that Pony would actually be with him and Soda _on a date!_

"What do you mean I can't go?" This was the most ridiculous thing Pony'd ever heard, it was insane!

"You can't come along with Soda and I on our dates!" Steve snapped at him again and Pony could feel his temper wearing thin.

"I ain't goin' with you on your stupid dates." He said between gritted teeth, "I'll be with Johnny and Dally. You aren't pissed at them for goin' to the movies."

Steve scowled at Pony, _idiot kid_, he thought. He didn't care if Dally and Johnny were there, they wouldn't be buggin' Soda. He told Ponyboy that.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard, Steve!" Steve's eyes narrowed. "Besides, I made plans first!"

Steve should've stopped right there. He should've gone out to see the new car or went into the kitchen or at least gotten away from Ponyboy. But he didn't. It made him so angry to see how close Soda and Ponyboy were when Soda was _his_ best friend. So Instead of leaving he said something he never should've spoken out loud. Something Soda told him in confidence, something about Ponyboy.

"Yeah well I'm on a date and a date trumps first dibs. When you start dating you'll get used to it…that is _if_ you ever start dating. Soda told me you don't find much interest in girls, what's wrong Ponyboy? You're 15; shouldn't you be feeling something by now? Or maybe it's just not your thing?" He remarked snidely. He sat back and watched the effect his words had on Ponyboy, not realizing that not only had he broken the bonds of his friendship with Soda and completely betrayed Soda's trust but he had also destroyed the trust between the two brothers. But he didn't think of that as he watched Pony's face redden and felt vindictive pleasure course through his veins.

_Soda told him. Soda told him. Told him. Told. Him. _Pony could feel his entire face redden. His stomach writhed in knots. It was his most embarrassing secret, that he hadn't been interested in girls yet. It freaked him out. He wasn't gay, he _knew _that, but no girl had caught his eye; he didn't feel anything for anyone.

The only people he told were Johnny and Soda, Johnny wouldn't ever tell anyone but Pony couldn't believe Soda would do that to him. _Steve Randal_, of everyone. Who else had he told? What if Steve told people? _What if people started thinking he was gay?_

He should've left then. He should've walked away and not looked back, he could yell at Soda later, but one look at Steve's face and he knew he couldn't do it. Steve looked smug and satisfied that he had won. Pony was stubborn. He wanted to make Steve feel embarrassed the way he felt. He wanted to be even, which was why he said what he said next. "Maybe instead of going to the Nightly Double you could take Evie back to your house. I'm sure she'd be fine as long as you keep her out of your dad's sight. You know no girl likes to come home from a date with bruises."

Pony saw the hit coming. In a way it almost felt good to feel Steve's fist collide with his face, the rush of guilt that had invaded his body after he what he said welcomed the pain. He was on his feet and a minute; both greasers stood facing off before they went at it.

This was no play fight between brothers, they were out to hurt and scar. Steve's fist came back around and smashed into Pony's face a second time. Pony kicked out, catching Steve in the ribs. Grabbing the collar of Steve's shirt he hurled his fist into Steve's face and listened to the satisfying crunch.

Steve rolled to the side and after regaining his footing ran at Pony, tackling him. Pony rolled over the card table, felt something ramming him uncomfortably in the back, Steve's body collapsed over Pony's wrist; he felt the pain before he heard the crack. His stomach rolled but he kept his lunch down.

Pony elbowed Steve and moved out of the way before slamming into him again. He listened to the satisfying pop of Steve's shoulder dislocating. Steve threw him off and Pony's head smacked into the study coffee table.

That's when they heard the yelling, "Jesus Christ STOP!" Soda sounded horrified as he watched his baby brother and his best friend fight. This was no play fight either, they looked like they wanted to rip each other's throat out.

"Ponyboy! Get off him Steve," Pony recognized Johnny's voice. God, every part of his body _hurt._

"What the _hell_?" That one was Dally, Steve was sure. Someone grabbed him gruffly and hauled him up, he groaned as they jarred his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, well eye; one was swollen shut, and surveyed the scene. Dally must be holding him up because Johnny and Two-Bit were supporting Pony while Soda looked on with a shocked and horrified expression. Pony shook himself free of Two-Bit and Johnny.

"What is going on here?" Boomed a deep voice from behind Steve, Darry had entered looking confused and pissed. Pony shook his head, seeming out of it.

"I gotta' go." He muttered just loud enough for Johnny to make out what he said. His words were slurred, he might have a concussion. Pony headed to the door, Johnny on his heels, planning to keep an eye on him.

"Where are you going? Ponyboy? Hey, kid! Get back here!" Darry yelled. It was no use. Pony was already running; Johnny was the only one who was fast enough to stay within hearing distance of Pony when he was running though the injuries probably slowed him down.

Unfortunately that left only Steve. They remaining members of the gang turned on him looking pissed, confused and bewildered. _Fuck,_ Steve thought before he was luckily saved by sweet unconsciousness.

**Thanks for reading, I really hope you like it. Review please. How'd I do on the fight scene? I don't think I'm very good at those.**

**Also I have no problem with people being gay, it's just that for this story Pony is not gay, but I needed something in Steve's comment to add some sting so that Pony's rebuttal didn't seem to harsh, don't want to offend people.**

**It's finally summer so I'll have a lot quicker updates!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you liked the last chapter and that this one is even better!**

Pony wanted to run for miles, but he couldn't. Almost immediately he felt fatigue and injury kick in, fighting a full grown greaser can really take it out of you! His head and back throbbed, but that was nothing compared to his wrist which alternated between a furious burning sensation and a raw scraping pain that he had trouble describing.

"Pony," Johnny huffed from beside him. Pony was obviously off his game if Johnny had managed to catch up to him so easily.

"Pony, you're hurt. Slow down and we can talk this over," reluctantly Pony did slow down. He headed into the park, it was a great place to go to get lost, and that's what Pony wanted to do. Get lost.

Johnny followed Pony into the wooded area behind the park until Pony stopped suddenly and plopped down near a tree, breathing heavily. Almost immediately he winced and scooted forward. _He musta' really killed his back_, Johnny thought. He looked at his friend, Pony had cuts and bruises all over but what concerned Johnny the most was his head injury and his wrist.

His head wasn't too bad, but you could never be sure with head wounds. It was bleeding into his hair and his wrist had become swollen and turned and ugly puce color, Johnny wasn't too sure they shouldn't be taking him to the hospital, but he knew better than to bring it up.

Johnny sat down near Ponyboy and patiently waited for Ponyboy to start talking. He did eventually; he looked right into Johnny's eyes and said, "Johnny, I fucked up bad."

_**Meanwhile back at the Curtis residence…**_

Dallas huffed and carelessly threw Steve into the couch to sleep it off. "What the _hell_ was that?" he asked, wondering if anyone else knew why the two greasers were going at it like wild dogs.

"I don't know," Two-Bit said, "but I don't think I've ever seen any of them so angry before." He marveled at Steve who now looked so peaceful asleep on the small couch.

Soda rubbed his face and ran his hands through his hair making it stick up at the weirdest angles, "I don't know what that was, but I _will _find out."

Darry was just shaking his head. "Guys we need to find Ponyboy and Johnny, Pony looked pretty roughed up."

"Yeah…" Two-Bit muttered, "The lot?"

"No, too open," Soda said, "Pony would want to hide."

"Okay then, the alley?" Two-Bit suggested.

"No," Darry disagreed, "not with Shepard there." Pony wouldn't want to be anywhere near Tim Shepard's gang.

"What about—" Two-Bit started but Dally cut him off.

"Listen, what the kid wants is to be left alone, so here's a crazy idea_, why don't we leave him alone_? Johnny's with him, he'll be fine. He can come back when he wants to and when Sleeping Beauty here wakes up we can have a little chat."

Nobody had any better ideas so they decided to do exactly what Dallas suggested. Darry went into the kitchen and started to make chicken for dinner, Pony's favorite.

"So," Two-Bit muttered to Soda, "I guess this means no movies tonight?"

Soda glared at Two-Bit, and took a seat on the couch shoving Steve's legs out of the way. Steve groaned in his sleep and rolled over. Dally punched Two-Bit in the arm and took a seat across from Soda. Two-Bit shrugged and plopped down on the floor in front of the couch.

"Alright, alright, all kidding aside you must have seen some signs of this, right Soda? People don't just wake up and decide to hate each other," Two-Bit reasoned.

"We don't know that they hate each other!" Soda protested.

Dally gave him a bland look, "Pull your head outta' your ass kid, did you even see them fighting? They sure as hell don't love each other."

Sodapop sighed and rubbed his face again, "There's gotta' be an explanation. They can't just hate each other, someone would know if they hated each other, right?"

Two-Bit shrugged, feeling sorry for Soda. His brother and his best friend fighting couldn't be easy for him, "Well, have you ever seen them choose to hang around each other? Without you there?" The rest of the gang had all been one on one with each other at some point, but now Two-Bit couldn't ever recall such a thing between Ponyboy and Steve.

At this point Darry had entered the living room after putting the chicken in the oven, "I know I haven't," he said, "In fact, Pony beats it outta' here pretty quick whenever Steve shows up." Darry watched Steve fast asleep on the couch.

They were all wondering the same thing right then, could two of their friends despise each other and none of them knew it? Was there any other explanation? Not after that fight, they answered themselves. That wasn't some play fight between them; they had to pull Steve off of Pony.

Dally eyed Steve, who would have to wake up eventually. The only people in the world who knew what the hell was going on was him and Ponyboy.

Dally sighed and stood up, "C'mon Two-Bit, I need your help popping his shoulder back in."

_**And back to the woods we go…**_

Ponyboy breathed in deeply and let his words reverberate through the forest, _I fucked up bad. I fucked up bad. I fucked up bad. _It hurt to hear them.

Johnny looked on with no judgment in his eyes as he silently assessed Pony. Finally he said, "Pony, it can't be that bad. Steve's banged up a bit but he'll make it just fine. That wrist must be mighty painful; maybe we should take you back to Darry…"

"_No_! No, I can't go back yet." Pony touched his bruised eye and cheekbone gingerly with his uninjured hand. He musta' been one awful sight.

He'd never meant for this to happen. Never. He hated Steve Randle but he didn't want to hurt the group, and he certainly didn't want to have an all-out brawl on the living room floor. He couldn't imagine what Sodapop was feeling.

Johnny nodded and accepted the fact that he wouldn't get Ponyboy to return home until Ponyboy was good and ready to go back.

"Johnny…I didn't mean for this to happen." Johnny nodded, _well he'd figured as much_. "Steve and I…we just don't get along, and it ain't my fault, dammit!"

Johnny didn't interrupt his friend, who was on a roll, "If he weren't Soda's best friend I'd 'a done that a long time ago. I mean it. I hate him. He's stupid and crude and he thinks I'm a stupid tag along kid even though I never go anywhere with them anymore, and when I do the whole gang goes too! It's like he doesn't even think I'm part of the gang!"

Pony's breathing was labored and for a moment Johnny was worried he might collapse, "Pony," he said in an effort to calm Pony down, "that ain't true, you know it ain't! You're jus' as much a part of this gang as—as Dallas Winston!"

Pony smiled, "Thanks Johnny," he took a deep breath and stared at a point just to the right of Johnny's boot, "I wasn't supposed to fight him. Or he wasn't supposed to fight me. We…we don't usually get into it. Just glare at each other, we kinda' have an agreement that we—we were supposed to take our grudges to our graves, ya' know Johnny?"

Johnny nodded, _was that it? They got into that fight 'cause they just don't dig each other? _

"You gotta understand, Johnny!" Pony said, seeing the look on Johnny's face, "We've always hated each other, _always._ Ever since he got mad 'cause Soda took me to the park with them. Sometimes I can't stand to look at him." Pony said starkly.

Johnny sighed, "I'm glad you got that off your chest, Pone, but we gotta go. It's getting dark." Johnny probed gently to see if his friend was willing to go back home, he sure hoped so. They needed to talk this out with everyone else.

Pony didn't move and for a second Johnny thought that he might not go with him, but then he blinked as if he was shaking himself out of his stupor. "Yeah, yeah let's go, Johnny."

Pony didn't have nearly as much energy as he did when he ran out here. He was half asleep and completely exhausted. He put his arm around Johnny's shoulders and Johnny half carried, half dragged him home.

As Johnny reached the neighborhood he could see the Curtis porch light was on. Darry sat on the porch looking like he was waiting for them. Dally was with him, keeping him company, Johnny supposed.

"Hey!" He yelled, getting their attention, "A little help here?" Dally and Darry ran out to him, Darry grabbed Ponyboy and carried him the rest of the way inside; he was fast asleep and dead to the world.

Johnny walked in and noticed Steve knocked out on the couch, "Did he wake up at all today?" Johnny asked Two-Bit.

"Nah," Two-Bit answered, "Out like a light!"

Darry entered the living room with Dally then, "Pony's asleep; I decided to let him stay that way. He needs to rest. I taped up his wrist, not much we can do about his head or any of the bruises till he wakes up, and even then all we can do is ice 'em."

Johnny winced on behalf of Ponyboy, "Did you do anything for Steve?" Johnny asked.

Dally nodded, "Had to pop his shoulder back into place."

Johnny winced again; his old man had once dislocated Johnny's shoulder. Dally was so mad when he saw it he nearly left to go kill Johnny's dad.

The timer on the oven beeped and the remaining uninjured greaser convened in the kitchen.

"Johnny," said Soda, whose voice was hoarse, "can you tell us what the hell is happening?"

**Hope you enjoyed it, review if you liked it. Or if you didn't and tell me why, please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is, hope you like!**

When Pony woke up the next morning the first thing he noticed was how much his back hurt.

Then his wrist.

Then his head.

Groaning, he rolled over, slightly relieving the pain in his lower back.

"Pony," someone whispered. Pony recognized the voice instantly. It was the voice he'd heard first thing in the morning every day for months. He didn't know whether to be relieved by his brother's presence or worried in light of yesterday's events.

Soda prodded Pony in the back; Pony winced and barely repressed a groan instead mumbling, "Soda g'away," into his pillow.

Sodapop laughed and pulled Pony out of bed, despite the younger brother's protests.

"Hey," another voice came from the doorway, "Be careful with Pony, little buddy. He ain't in a good shape right now, okay?"

Soda sighed and relented. Pony crawled out of bed, not planning to change out of the clothes he wore yesterday and slept in.

Then Ponyboy looked into the eyes of his oldest brother and knew that he was in for a long day. Suddenly he decided that if today was going to be difficult he might as well be in fresh, clean clothes when he faced it.

In a moment of stupidity Pony didn't wait until his brothers were gone to change his shirt. He pulled off the old garment, taking care with his extra sensitive back. Pony only realized his mistake when Soda gasped.

"Geez, Pony," he said looking upset, "did you do that yesterday? With Steve?" It took Pony a moment to realize that Soda was talking about his back.

Pony didn't know how to answer so instead he kept quiet, trying to change quickly, but Darry answered for him, "Well he sure didn't do it in his sleep!"

Pony refrained from saying anything and grabbed the closest shirt in reach, which was on the floor, to cover his back which, he surmised was not in good shape. It musta' looked as bad as it felt.

Darry rolled his eyes and snatched the shirt out from Pony's hands, "C'mon we need to have a look at your back. Soda grab the first aid kit from the bathroom!"

Soda left, but not before Pony saw the look on his face. Soda would be torn up by this and Pony felt a rush of guilt. How would he feel if Soda despised Johnny as much as he hated Steve? Not that that would ever happen but still, the idea was disturbing.

Pony vowed right then to make this as painless as he could, not only for Soda but for the rest of the group as well.

"Listen Darry—" Darry cut him off and ordered him into the kitchen, Pony tried to talk as they made their way across the small house.

"Well, I, uh, think that there has been a misunderstanding." Pony began, unsure of how to play this off. If Steve looked half as bad as Pony felt it would be extremely difficult to pretend their injuries were the result of an accident during some rough housing that got out of hand, especially considering what the gang saw. The gang may not be great at school but they weren't that stupid.

"Oh there has, has there?" Darry asked, not sounding fooled at all. Pony sighed, this would be harder than he thought, if he wanted to pull this off he'd actually need to work with Steve. It was Pony's exact idea of hell.

Speaking of Steve, Pony and Darry walked through the living room where Steve lay unconscious on the couch, having no idea of the hell he would awake to. It was funny, Pony had seen him there hundreds of times and every single time before this he had felt the same rush of hatred for the guy. But now, looking at him Pony just felt…guilty. And unprepared for the coming challenges.

_Huh_, maybe Steve had hit Pony's head a little harder than he'd thought. Pony assured himself that his natural hatred for Steve Randle would come back soon enough.

Several pairs of eyes locked on Pony as he and Darry entered the kitchen. Pony could never recall a time when he felt more awkward in his own home, that is until Two-Bit yelled, "Hey Casanova how about you put on a shirt?"

"You don't know who Casanova _is_, Two-Bit," Johnny muttered rolling his eyes.

"Oh, and you do, Romeo?"

"You don't know who Romeo is, either," Pony laughed.

Soda entered the room behind them carrying the first aid kit, "I'm going to wake up Steve, okay?" He asked Darry.

Darry nodded looking solemn. Pony grimaced, Darry was obviously pissed. That was going to make his and Steve's job much harder.

"Hop up." Darry said, patting them counter top in from of him.

"Darry," Pony complained, yanking his shirt back, "There isn't anything you can do for it!"

Darry just raised his eyebrow and gestured to the counter again. Pony sighed and marched up there, not prepared to be a specimen on display for the rest of the gang.

Two-Bit let out a loud, backwards whistle when Pony turned his back to the gang. Even Dally raised his eyebrows.

"Gosh Ponyboy, your back looks like a rotten apple!" Dally said.

Pony's eyes narrowed, "Gee thanks, Dal."

"Golly Ponyboy, does it hurt an awful lot?" Johnny asked.

"No," Pony lied through his teeth, the muscles in his back bunched when Darry applied the freezing cold ice.

When Darry was finally convinced there was no more he could do he let Ponyboy down to put on his shirt. Pony had just taken his seat at the table when Soda and Steve walked in.

Judging by their expressions Soda had already tried to talk to Steve and Steve hadn't given the answers Soda wanted. Ponyboy swallowed, it was near audible in the suddenly quite room. Steve walked over to Darry who treated his wounds as best they could, which was basically to wrap his shoulder and around his chest where they thought he may have some broken ribs and ice his bruises.

"Now," Darry said as Steve sat down, "I think you two owe us an explanation."

**Hope you liked, if you have any ideas feel free to leave them in a review because I'm really not sure where I want the story to go. When I have a good idea I'll be able to update more often.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know. I know, I know, I know.**

**Stop looking at me like that.**

**I know it took a long time. I have my reasons.**

**So I decided this is going in a totally different direction, more light hearted possibly. I apologize it you hate it. I'm working on updating The Babysitters but my flash drive literally broke in half and I lost my last chapter which was almost done. I'm trying to convince myself that I really do want to rewrite it, but myself isn't buying it. I'll get on it.**

_"Now," Darry said as Steve sat down, "I think you two owe us an explanation."_

Over his dead body. Steve understood why they'd want an explanation, he really did, but this was between him and Ponyboy.

Ponyboy squirmed under the attention; he was unused to the stares. He didn't want to explain any more than Steve wanted too. Aside from that he didn't even know how to explain. There was never any fight that started the feud, no specific clashes besides the one from the other night, the fact was that the two greasers just didn't dig each other.

When neither responded Dally snapped, "Well?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Steve muttered. Pony rubbed a hand over his face. That was what Steve was going with? Really?

Soda seemed in equal disbelief, not even Two-Bit was going to fall for that one, "You can't—," Darry started but was interrupted by a loud banging sound as the back door to the Curtis residence flew open and Curly Shepard came barreling in.

"_Curtis!_" He yelled.

"What?" asked Pony, Soda and Darry in unison.

When Curly entered the kitchen he was breathing heavily and dripping in sweat. His cheek was bruised and his nose was bloody, probably broken.

"River King—Tim—we need…help—I—,"

Dally frowned, "Spit it out kid!"

Curly grabbed the water in front of Pony and downed it, the liquid seemed to loosen his tongue and he spoke quickly, "River Kings in the park, way onto your territory! We need help fightin' half our guys are gone!"

Dally didn't need to hear anymore, he was on his way, Johnny hot on his heels. Two-Bit of course followed, Darry swore, "Godammit! I didn't want to get involved!" but inevitably if Tim needed help they would be there because Tim was Dally's buddy and they stuck by Dally.

"Pony and Steve stay here, you can't fight!" Soda and Darry were out the door, leaving Pony and Steve on their own.

Pony turned to glared at Steve accusingly, "Don't know what they're talking about? Really?" he snapped.

Steve glared, "I didn't see you come up with anything better!"

"That's because saying nothing was better than denying everything!" Pony hissed.

Both of them bickered as they clambered up, ignoring their orders from Darry to stay put. There was no way they would miss this.

Steve held his shoulder; neither could run so they made their way slowly to the park.

"I hope there aren't any kids at the park." Pony muttered.

Steve barked an unexpected laugh, "So, what are we supposed to do about the boys?"

"You mean what should we tell them?" Pony asked; his brow furrowed as he thought. He noticed this was the first time (aside from rumbles) that he and Steve were on the same team. It felt odd.

"I'm not tellin' them the truth," Pony said. He didn't want to hurt them anymore than they already had, especially Soda, and he certainly didn't want to explain what he and Steve had said to each other that made them beat each other so bad. What they needed was another reason for fighting.

"Duh," Steve muttered as they came in sight of the park. The fight seemed to be close to ending, the River Kings close to running. They were way off their territory and several other small neighborhood gangs had arrived to join Shepard.

Pony laughed as he watched Dally beat a River King, "Dally looks like he's havin' the time of his life," he said.

Steve laughed, surprised at Pony's humor. He guessed they'd never talked without insultin' each other.

Steve frowned as suddenly a crazy idea took hold, an insane, out if this world excuse, that just_ might_ work, if they play it right, "A girl!" he said suddenly.

"Huh?" Pony looked around; afraid Steve had spotted a helpless girl on the makeshift battlefield.

"No you dummy! A girl! We tell them we were fighting over a girl!" Steve said excitedly, "They'll forget all about it if they think we have a reason!" That was exactly what Ponyboy had thought earlier, but this? The gang would never buy this.

Ponyboy frowned, "Are you stupid? That would never work," he protested even as the idea took hold in his mind. A girl. They'd been fighting over a girl. Steve happens to throw a punch, Pony retaliates, and the fight ends they forget about the girl. End of story. The gang gets over it; they go back to hating each other in secret. The plan was insane and oddly the last part didn't sit well with Pony. Go back to hating Steve. Did 'going back' mean he didn't hate Steve now? He shook off his thoughts, now was not the time.

"They'd never buy it." Pony argued.

Steve shook his head, "You're thinking too logically," he said tapping Pony's forehead, "They don't need an explanation, they need a reason. A reason that they can hear, understand and avoid conflict with. They can go back to how they normally are. All they want is a _reason_!"

Pony frowned, digesting this impossible, improbable excuse. An excuse that just might work, one that they could _just maybe_ pull off.

Ponyboy spoke cautiously, "So we go back and they interrogate us and we tell them it was a girl? Just like that?"

"Just like that. They'll be pissed it came to blows, but they'll lose interest."

Pony frowned looking for the problem until he found it, "Steve, you're dating Evie. They'll see right through it."

It was Steve's turn to frown, "Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Umm, yeah, that's _why _we were fighting!"

Pony looked at him, "We were fighting over Evie?" That would _never _work. Soda would see right through that in a heartbeat.

"No, you idiot," Steve said, "We were fighting because we both like her—this girl—but, um, you think I shouldn't get her because I'm dating Evie and I think you shouldn't get her because she'd too old. Work for you?"

Not really, Ponyboy would get it from Darry for fighting and the guys would tease him endlessly _but_ it was better than the alternative of explaining why they disliked each other which would only lead to long, drawn out discussions that included, Pony shuddered, _feelings_.

If they could make this work it would save both of them a whole lotta' trouble.

**So I decided to take this in a whole 'nother direction. I had no idea where it was going before but I knew I didn't like it. I'm sorry if this seemed confusing, I wasn't sure if I could only understand it 'cause I'm the author or what.**

**If you don't like it, then I'm really sorry. I'm hoping to build a relationship based on necessity for Pony and Steve. This will not ever be a romance. Yeahthat'sitbye.**


End file.
